Christmas Ornament Bead Embroidery Kit "Cactus"

“Cactus” is a cactus in a pot with three orange flowers on the tips of its shoots.

What the picture shows

The stem branches into a central trunk and two side shoots, worked in several greens from lime to deep emerald. Rows of small circles run inside each shoot in a spiral, standing in for spines. Three orange flowers of faceted beads sit on the tips, and a round olive stone is set into the centre of the stem. The pot is worked in brown, bronze and dark gold beads, with an amber bead in the middle. Seventeen colours: the green part is cool, the pot is warm, and the border between them is sharp. The pot takes up almost a third of the height and carries more colour weight than the stem, so the piece sits firmly instead of drifting upward.

What is in the kit

• Artist canvas with the full-colour pattern printed on it — no chart to follow on a screen
• Czech Preciosa beads, 17 colours
• Beading needles
• Instructions and finishing guide

Specifications

• Finished size: 44×70 mm (1.73×2.76 in)
• Beads: approx. 528
• Bead colours: 17
• Difficulty: average
• Base: art canvas

The piece is vertical and small. The embroidery is cut out along the outline and mounted as a brooch; the stones, the pin and the backing are chosen separately. The spiral rows inside the shoots are worked after the outline is finished — otherwise it is easy to lose the step and spoil the shape.